Page 66 of Jacob Michaels is Dead

“You thought that maybe I’d put this fucker in the ground for good, you and Carlita could, I don’t know, retire, and Lucas and I could take over as guardian and oracle? Just in case he ever came back, and another witch needed to be found?”

Lucas snorted.

“That’s about the size of it, yeah.” Oma agreed, then her face turned angry. “But you was supposed to be gone at least another decade, damnit. You needed to mature and have your power grow. If you couldn’t remember you had it, you wouldn’t be usin’ it for all them years. It could grow while he was stuck in the ground. But then you came back way before I expected it…and you started a whole chain of events, damnit. I tried runnin’ you off. Made you think you was seein’ things, hearin’ things, savin’ somethin’ that looked like you form the lake, havin’ Andrew attack you. Even negotiated with Jason and his pack to scare ya’ a bit. They was more than happy to if it meant Bloody Bones would be destroyed, and maybe they could have their…disease…removed. Everyone worked together—except this one—since he didn’t have his memories—to get you to leave.”

“You pushed us together when I came back,” I grumbled. “How did that serve your purpose?”

“Thought maybe you’d get scared off if you thought you was fallin’ in love,” Oma replied evenly. “You two was thick as thieves when you was young. I was quite impressed with the way you both worked together and put the dots together about the well and wishing things different. And, well, it brought me peace, knowing that when the time came—ten years from now—if you came back and banished Bloody Bones for good, and the two of you took over for me and Carlita—you’d have each other. You could spend the next millennia in each other’s company. A love story for the ages.”

I pulled my hand out of Lucas’ and began a slow clap.

“Well done, asshole,” I said to Oma.

“It wasn’t a perfect plan.” She hissed at me. “But we saw a chance to tip the tables in our favor. To get rid of this never-ending cycle of him comin’ and goin’. We was tryin’ to do right by you and your long family line, you asshole!”

“So, what now?” Lucas asked quickly, glancing over at me. “If Rob’s here too early and Bloody Bones is off sucking up all the magic he pulled out of the land and stored away—”

“Yeah.” Oma nodded. “I bet most the people in this town is dead already. He’ll be heading this way soon, I spose.”

“So, what do we do now?” Lucas demanded.

“He’ll fight.” Oma waved a hand at me. “He’s gonna say he won’t, but he will. It’s what people like him do.”

“People like him?” I grumbled.

“Witches.” She spat. “Good people who do what they was born to do. Protect others. That’s what people like you do. Because you was born to do it.”

“Fuck you.” I groaned.

She shrugged.

Something in my head, some tiny little voice was telling me something.

“So,” I said, “he’s been pulling magic out of the land and giving it to people. Giving them powers. Storing it away so one day, he could rise and take it all back and be more powerful than a witch could ever hope. Then he could squash that witch—me—easily and do what he’s always wanted to do? Rule the world or some shit?”

“Spose.”

“Where do you think he learned that idea?” I asked.

“What?” Oma and Lucas asked at the same time.

“People up here were using magic left by The Witch.” I shrugged with a snort. “Maybe he got the idea of borrowing magic from that. Ya’ think?”

“It’s possible.” She sniffed.

“But—” Lucas began.

“And did it ever occur to you,” I interrupted him, “that maybe the first witch created the well to create balance?”

Lucas turned to me, a shocked expression on his face. Even Oma turned to me, concern etched all over her face.

“There’s magic in the lands.” I waved my arms around wildly. “Where he gets his power. Maybe the witch put the well full of magic there to create balance—that’s what kept him in the ground. People siphoning from it, creating imbalance…he started siphoning and storing away his own. He knew the day would come that the well would run dry, and the scales would tip. You put the idea in my head to use the well—my whole family had been doing it after all—and wish him away. Then you confused me into using it a second time to implant more fake memories in my head when I got back. That was the last of it. There was no more balance. As soon as that well went dry, he’s been digging his way up, lady.”

Oma whispered something.

“What?” I barked.

“As above, so below,” Oma repeated but not much louder or more clearly. “One of the first rules of magic.”